Secret Origins was an ongoing comic book series published by DC Comics from 1986 to 1990. It spanned a total of fifty individual issues as well as three annuals and one special. Unlike Secret Origins (Volume 1), this series did not rely on reprinted material, but provided new and sometimes updated origin stories based on the framework provided by their original authors. The initial format of the series focused on the history of a single character, alternating issues between Golden Age characters and Modern Age characters. Beginning with issue #6, the title changed to a double-sized format and featured at least two character stories per issue, one Golden Age tale, and one modern tale. Occasionally, the series would alter its format to accommodate multi-title tie-in stories including the Legends crossover event and the Millenniumcrossover event. With the exception of issues #32-35, each issue of Secret Origins was a self-contained comic with no lead-ins to previous or later issues. Secret Origins #32-35 was a multi-issue event chronicling the entire career of the Justice League of America and its various members. This issue featured the Modern Age Captain Atom, Rocket Red #4, and Green Lantern Gnort.

The cover art of this issue was fine. I found it nothing special. Jerry Ordway and Ty Templeton did a good job and I have nothing to complain about. It isn’t spectacular but it is by no means bad. I like the red eyes and the yellow energy aura surrounding Cap. I thought they were a nice touch. As far as action shots go, it isn’t astounding. Just three super-heroes flying out of a building.

The big payoff is inside!

The opening splash page of the Silver Age Captain Atom is beautiful. Alan Weiss really seems to have captured Steve Ditko’s essence. Cap even has the little stars following him! Unfortunately, there are places later in the story where the art was less than stellar.

I have one complaint about this page. Why is Pat Masulli given creator credit for Captain Atom? I’ve never seen him credited before. He was Executive Editor of Charlton Comics when Captain Atom first appeared in Space Adventures #33, so I suppose a case could be made. I’ve just never seen him credited as a creator. Oh, well. On with the story.

A group of people have gathered in a Las Vegas hotel conference room to discuss Captain Atom. They are calling themselves “Friends of the Captain,” and appear to be a support group for people who have interacted with Captain Atom in some way. They’re a fan club of super-hero groupies. They’re discussing their thoughts on Captain Atom’s “classic” costume when the youngest among them, Theresa Delgado, calls the “meeting” to order. Theresa, regular Captain Atom readers will know, is part of the Air Force’s “Captain Atom Project” PR team.

Theresa asks General Datko, an aging soldier, to share his story. His name being “Datko” was not lost on me, and I had to wonder if his first name was “Stove.” Datko holds up a screwdriver and says his Captain Atom story is probably the oldest one, as it is the origin story. He tells the story (sort of ripped from the pages of Space Adventures #33) of the young Air Force man trapped in an Atlas rocket after dropping a screwdriver inside minutes before the launch.

The fact that the airman got stuck in the rocket seconds before launch always seemed a bit hokey to me, but in this telling of the origin, it seems a bit more believable. The screwdriver bounces further into the rocket and he scrambles in deeper to recover it, becoming horribly stuck. He thought the ground crew knew he was still inside and wouldn’t launch. But, as in the original Gill/Ditko story, the ground crew realizes he’s still inside when it is too late and the rocket launches. Of course, the rocket detonates in the upper atmosphere and the airman is vaporized.

“Even though my head is smaller than my hand, I still love Captain Atom!”

Later, while glumly sitting in the dark, Stove Datko is contacted by the airman, who was able to survive the blast and return to Earth. “Maybe it was something in the mix of the atomic radiation and the cosmic rays… or maybe it was some unknown ‘X-factor’ that will never be found for sure. I didn’t know or care about the explanation,” finishes Datko. “All I knew was my friend was alive and back on the base that very night.”

Miss Delgado then introduces Buddy Larson, a folksy country boy. He says he owes his life to Captain Atom, and begins to share his story.

As a boy, Buddy was very sick. Doctors didn’t know exactly what he had, but knew he’d be dead within a week. Buddy mentions that his father was a n Air Force mechanic, and that is presumably how Captain Atom found out about his sickness. Cap shows up in Buddy’s hospital room, takes the boy by the hand, and abducts him.

The two fly off into space. Luckily, Buddy has a child-sized astronaut suit to wear as he rides Captain Atom’s back into outer space. They land on an asteroid and begin to play tag. What the kid didn’t know, but Captain Atom did, was that the asteroid’s radiation had healing properties that completely cured the boy.

Theresa Delgado next gives the floor to Matilda and Harry Denison. Matilda tells a tale of she and her then-new husband Harry being lost at sea on the other side of the world in a life raft after their boat capsized. They drifted into a Naval atomic testing area and were in danger of being vaporized by a hydrogen bomb when Captain Atom appeared out of nowhere. They watched him come in as the bomb detonated. He scooped up their raft and flew them to the safety of a nearby resort island. He swore the Denisons to secrecy, promising that they would be able to tell their story one day.

The last speaker introduced is a Russian cosmonaut named Uri Voskoff. Twenty-five years earlier, the guidance system on his orbiting spacecraft failed and he began to spiral towards the planet’s surface. Out of his window, he sees Captain Atom grab hold of the craft and guide it safely to the spot where it was intended to splash down.

Uri says that Captain Atom revealed himself to the Soviets only because he knew they’d never admit their cosmonaut was rescued by an American super-hero. This part of the story is a paraphrased version of “The Second Man in Space,” which appeared in Space Adventures #34.

Miss Delgado excuses herself and goes into an adjoining room, where General Eiling and Dr. Megala were watching the meeting through a two-way mirror. The two are not happy with the performance they just witnessed. Of course, the story of Captain Atom gaining his powers in a NASA mishap and being a super-hero in secret for years was a lie. All of the speakers at the Friends of Captain Atom meeting are paid actors. And the General and Megala found inconsistencies in their stories.

Eiling suggests changing Buddy’s story from being flown to the asteroid belt to being flown to the Arctic, where he was exposed to healing radiation. He suggests changing the Denison’s story and having Cap approach from a different direction, as they would have been blinded if they watched him come from the direction of the blast. Eiling also suggests they change Uri’s story so that Captain Atom releases the capsule’s parachute and can remain unseen by everyone except Uri. Lastly, he orders “Datko” to lose the screwdriver prop.

“But, General! It distracts people from my disproportionately small head!”

Nathaniel Adam, an Air Force Captain, was a condemned traitor who volunteered to be the test subject in a government experiment. Megala and Eiling detonated an atom bomb under him to see if an alien metal would protect him. The metal not only protected Nate, but bonded with him and transported him 18 years into the future and endowed him with amazing powers.

Megala leaves in a huff. Miss Delgado hands the actors their new scripts and they run through their parts again.

Now, knowing what I know about Wade Eiling, after all these actors get their parts right and have them recorded for posterity, they are all going to be killed. With the possible exception of Theresa Delgado, these peoples’ days are numbered. Eiling does not like loose ends.

I give this story an A. Bates and Weismann were writing the regular Captain Atom series at the time, so this fits right in within the continuity. And I definitely liked all the nods to Steve Ditko’s original stories. And it was great to see Cap back in his yellow suit. The art, however, was not the best. After a really promising start, things went a bit “Liefeld.” Alan Weiss did some work for DC Comics and Marvel in the 70s-80s, but not a long run on any one book. Joe Rubinstein, who inked this issue, said of Alan Weiss, he was “the most difficult guy in the business to ink, without exception.” He went on to say he really liked inking Weiss’ pencils. I guess you had to be there. It isn’t the worst I’ve ever seen and perhaps Weiss was under some pressure to meet a deadline. I give the art a D, making this adventure of Captain Atom a C.

Captain Atom next appears in Justice League International #20.

I discussed this issue of Secret Origins on Ryan Daly’s Secret Origins Podcast on 4/18/2016. Although I was a bit hard on Alan Weiss, Ryan did open my eyes to how good Weiss could be with inanimate objects. Check out this image below as an example:

The tubes and wires and whatnot of the rocket really do look great and adds to the whole claustrophobic nature of the scene.

(All characters and images belong to DC Comics and I am not making any profit off this blog.)

Released in 2004, this hardcover book had Who’s Who type entries for most DC characters and events. Writing credits have been given to Scott Beatty, Robert Greenburger, Phil Jimenez, and Daniel Wallace. Captain Atom appeared several times (the Modern Age Captain Atom primarily, but also the Bronze Age Cap and Monarch). Hundreds of artists are credited but where in the book their work appears is not specified. Most of the artwork, if not all of it, is recycled from previously published works.

The Modern Age Captain Atom drawing is from JLA-Z #1 by Dan Jurgens & Al Vey. The JLI featuring the Cap is from JLA-Z #2 by Kevin Maguire & Josef Rubinstein. The image of the Bronze Age Cap and others attacking the Anti-Monitor is from the cover of Crisis on Infinite Earths #12 by George Pérez & Jerry Ordway. The Extreme Justice drawing is from the cover of Extreme Justice #0 by Marc Campos & Ken Branch. I could not track down the artists behind the drawings of Monarch and the rendition of Zero Hour.

An updated and expanded version of the encyclopedia was released in 2008.

This is the epic conclusion to DC’s mega-crossover event Crisis on Infinite Earths. Captain Atom is featured prominently on the cover, front and center, battling the Anti-Monitor. He appears in eight different panels in the book, and even has some speaking parts (no small feat in this monster of a series).

Aboard Brainiac’s ship, Dolphin, Captain Comet, Rip Hunter, Animal Man, the Atomic Knight, and Adam Strange convince Brainiac that his memory was tampered with to make him forget the Crisis. Realizing that his power is inadequate to battle the Anti-Monitor, Brainiac sets course for the world of a more powerful being. On Earth, the Anti-Monitor’s image is seen in the skies all over the globe. He repeats that the Earth is now in the anti-matter universe. His past victories over positive universes are meaningless, he says, because of the super-heroes’ efforts to stop him. When he lists Supergirl and the Flash as casualties, Kid Flash freaks out and demands to know what has happened.

The Supermen scan the globe and watch the populace panicking. Harbinger appears, and teleports them to another destination, then gathers Dr. Light from Japan, leaving Sunburst to defend the country. When Dr. Light states that she caused Supergirl’s death, Harbinger replies that the battle had already killed Supergirl, and that the Anti-Monitor’s final attack merely gave her a swift death. In the skies, the darkness splits into a million shadow demons, which begin an all-out attack on humanity, and the super-heroes mass to resist them. The Global Guardians team with other heroes to free their native lands from the threat, but the demons’ numbers never seem to dwindle. The Phantom Stranger summons Dr. Mist to help revive the comatose Spectre. Below, Harbinger has gathered a large group of heroes, along with Pariah and Alexander Luthor, to lead a final assault on their nemesis. Alex creates a bridge between universes, and they depart near Apokolips.

Brainiac’s ship goes into stationary orbit around Apokolips, and he and his guests teleport to the planet, where Darkseid appears before them.

Back on Earth, the majority of the heroes are still battling the demons. The Dove is slain by a shadow-being as his brother witnesses.

In Dr. Fate’s Salem tower, the magically powered heroes have gathered to pool their shamanistic might. The Earth-2 Green Lantern (Alan Scott) and Dr. Occult form the nexus of their energy.

On Qward, in the anti-matter universe, Harbinger and the heroes arrive in the Anti-Monitor’s old headquarters. Kid Flash insists on joining them because of his mentor’s death. Suddenly, an image of the Flash appears to him—the last one Barry cast before his death. Wally follows the afterimage to where an insane Psycho-Pirate clutches at an empty uniform. Kid Flash knocks him out, and realizes that Barry Allen is truly dead when Lady Quark finds his ring. Pariah informs them that a great concentration of evil lies before them. They follow to find a towering Anti-Monitor, ready for the final slaughter.

In Atlantis, Aquaman leads his underwater legions against the shadows. Lori Lemaris saves a trapped Mera with a force beam. A demon closes in on her and kills her. In Chicago, Green Arrow of Earth-2 is killed by a shadow. In Philadelphia, Cyborg, the Son of Vulcan, the Vigilante, and the New Wildcat continue rescue operations.

In New Orleans, Shade the Changing Man witnesses the death of Prince Ra-Man. In Skartaris, Travis Morgan leads his forces against the black menaces. In Gotham City, both Clayface II and the Bug-Eyed Bandit perish at the hands of the demons. In Salem, the tide finally turns. The supernatural crusaders send their combined force in a net of energy to gather the demons from the Earth’s surface, and bind them helpless in space. Over the Earth, lives have been lost, including those of Kole, Huntress, and Robin, but other lives have been saved. For a moment, the survivors can take stock.

On Qward, the Supermen of Earth 1 and 2, Captain Atom, Lady Quark, Firehawk, Wonder Woman, and other tarot’s strike at the Anti-Monitor, but he ignores their blows, feeding on the energy of a nearby star, As Dr Light absorbs the energy of one of the binary suns they are between, the Anti-Monitor feels his power draining away. Alex begins to drain the anti-matter energy away from their enemy. Negative Woman uses her negative-self to bind the Anti-Monitor and inhibit him: then Harbinger leads all the energy-producing heroes against him, Dr. Light blasts him with the energy of a sun, and he falls into the ruins of his fortress. Alex creates a dimensional hole, large enough to enclose the Earth and return it to its proper universe. The heroes follow. The ball of bound demons hover and then fall on the fallen enemy. Thus, the Anti-Monitor absorbs his slaves energies and rises again, while the heroes start to give battle. Wonder Woman is caught in a withering flash of power, and is borne away to an unknown destination. Superman of Earth-1 and Lady Quark vow deadly revenge, but Kal-L knocks them out, and tells Superboy to take them back. Since he has no world and no wife to return to, the elder Superman has the least to lose. Then he confronts the monstrous Anti-Monitor, and batters him. Superboy sends Superman and Lady Quark back through Alex’s shrinking body, and turns to aid him. Superman continues his one-man war against the Anti-Monitor, striking telling blows, while the villain, his power waning, absorbs more energy from the anti-cosmos, and blasts him and Superboy. Darkseid, watching the conflict on a viewscreen, proclaims his planet to be endangered if the Anti-Monitor survives, sends a power burst at him through Alex’s eyes. The enemy, devastated, is hurled into the core of one of the binary suns. Superman, Superboy, and Alex are stunned to see the spectre of their enemy rising from the sun. Superman smashes into his foe’s fiery body, scattering him: the remains fall back into the sun and the star begins to implode.

They bravely await the end and Superman wishes that Lois could have lived to see their triumph. At that, Alex produces Lois from a void-pocket in his body where she had been sent to wait. She tells her husband that she had been to a tranquil world. Alex cannot return them to Earth but he can take them all to this beautiful world. Superman, Lois, and Superboy opt for that choice. The foursome vanish seconds before the exploding sun would have reached them.

Back on Earth, Lyla is explaining facets of the Crisis to Pariah and Lady Quark. Wonder Woman was returned to the clay which Aphrodite and Athena had given life, then spread across Paradise Island.

Time then continued to reverse itself, as the Amazons were returned to their original homeland before they fled Man’s World. Zeus brought the homeless Wonder Woman of Earth-2 and her husband Steve Trevor to Olympus, where they could live peacefully. The bodies of Robin of Earth-2, the Huntress, and Kole were never found. All those who died were mourned. In Keystone City, Jay Garrick determined that Kid Flash’s illness was in remission, his body chemistry being changed by a blast from the Anti-Monitor. He could again move at super-speed, though only to a maximum of Mach-1. Wally donned Barry Allen’s uniform, and announced, “From this day forth — the Flash lives again!”

The Great Disaster will not exist in the Earth’s future, but a lost child will he found in Command D. adopted by General Horatio Tomorrow of the Planeteers, and named Thomas. Jonah Hex will be torn from his era to fight in the future, while the Guardians of the Universe must face the first division in their ranks. Thus, Lyla concludes her tale, and Lady Quark and Pariah ask her to help them explore their new homeworld. They leave with her, honoring the memory of their benefactor, the Monitor. And, in Arkham Asylum, the staff discuss a new patient who seems beyond help, straitjacketed in a rubber-lined room. Roger Hayden, formerly Psycho-Pirate, gibbers about Earths beyond numbers, the Anti-Monitor, and the memories, which only he had been allowed to keep.

Beautifully drawn. George Pérez and Jerry Ordway really had a way of making something with so many characters not look too crowded (in my opinion). This issue set the stage for what would be my DC Universe (1985-2005).